STAR FALLING

City of Hope, Book Two

Copyright © Kali Argent

STAR FALLING

Copyright © August 2017 by Kali Argent

Cover Art by Black Butterfly Designs

Published by PECCAVI PRESS INC

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

STAR FALLING

White. Everything in the city is one startling shade of white—the walls, the floor, the furniture, the clothes—and Star Donavan is over it.

Before the destruction of Earth, Star had been a highly-respected fashion designer. On Aleucia, she’s nobody, assigned to the laundry room on the lowest level of Hope. The one bright spot in her otherwise monochrome existence is the sinfully gorgeous captain of the guard, but he’s one temptation she’s determined to resist.

It’s been months since Captain Valen Otar has even looked at another female besides Star. She’s his last thought before falling asleep, and the first person he seeks out each morning. Star is his—or at least she would be if she’d stop being so stubborn. Aleucian warriors don’t beg, and they certainly don’t grovel, but he’ll do both if that’s what it takes to convince Star his feelings for her are more than just a passing fling.

PROLOGUE

It was in the late twenty-third century when the Aleucians first made contact with Earth. A race of warrior beings with long fangs and ethereal, sapphire blue eyes, the males stood well over six feet tall, most reaching closer to seven feet, and even the females towered over many of the humans.

Their initial arrival was met with fear and hostility as the humans raged against what they didn’t understand. Eventually, the smoke cleared and the discord settled, and ten long years later, Earth welcomed the Aleucians as both friends and allies.

Unfortunately, their continued presence on the planet soon attracted other visitors from across the galaxies, and not all came in peace.

Wars ensued.

Cities burned.

By the end of the century, only a fraction of the population remained, and Earth had been reduced to nothing more than a barren wasteland. The Aleucians offered refuge and safe passage to their homeworld, and as their own planet died, humans had no choice but to accept their generosity.

Still, survival came at a cost.

The arid surface of Aleucia reached deadly temperatures during the daytime hours, and its thinner ozone meant the sun produced third-degree burns in humans within a matter of minutes. The nights, on the other hand, turned bitterly cold, well below freezing, with brutal, arctic winds.

While covered in slender, transparent scales that protected them from severe temperature changes on their homeworld, the Aleucians quickly realized the environment would be uninhabitable by what remained of the human race. In response, they’d built a vast, sterile, underground city that reached seventeen levels and nearly two miles below the planet’s surface.

There, the humans remained, never to see the sun, moon, or stars again.

It was the price they paid for safety, security…survival.

Welcome to the city of Hope.

CHAPTER ONE

“Good morning,” a robotic feminine voice said pleasantly from the speakers in the ceiling. “The time is currently six o’clock, Earth Standard Time. Please report to your assigned station within one hour. Thank you, and have a wonderful day.”

Rolling over on her cot, Star Donavan groaned, burying her face into her snow-white pillow as the lights in her living pod switched on automatically. Today was the day, the one year anniversary since she’d first stepped into the surgically white, underground city of Hope. Three hundred and sixty-five days since she’d seen the sun, walked along the beach in the moonlight, or spent a lazy afternoon in bed watching old movies and eating pistachio ice cream by the pint.

She missed Miami’s sunny beaches. She missed her friends and her family, all of whom had died in the wars before Earth could be evacuated. She missed color.

The walls, tiles, fixtures, and furniture in her living pod were white. Her clothes, her sheets, the pillow she slept on, and the sandals she wore were all the exact same shade of pure, blinding white. The few things that weren’t white in the city, where a depressing black instead, like the guards’ uniforms or the blinking numbers on the digital clock above her bed.

Pushing upright, Star rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she yawned, then lifted her arms over her head, arching her back to stretch the tight muscles. Mostly, she didn’t mind the routine, but some days, she’d give anything for the chance to sleep until noon.

That wasn’t happening today.

Sighing, she curled her toes against the white tiles, rubbed her eyes again, then rose to her feet with another sleepy yawn. The dome-shaped button over her bed glowed and blinked a muted red, and she frowned at the offending thing as she slapped her palm against it, flipping her mattress back into its hiding place in the wall.

Gathering her long, golden hair into a high ponytail at her crown, she shuffled over to the mirror and toggled the switch on the wall with her elbow. The mirror, sink, and vanity disappeared, lowering into the floor to make room for a single rack of clothing to descend from the ceiling.

“Star, you’re late,” a deep masculine voice boomed inside her mind.

Having her mind invaded had been a hell of a trip when she’d first arrived on the new planet, but now, it barely fazed her. Thankfully, the telepathy only worked one way. The Aleucians could understand and speak any language after hearing it only once, and while they could speak aloud, most chose telepathy as their primary means of communication.

“I am not,” she yelled through the closed door of her pod. “Go away, Valen.”

“Your morning routine is inefficient.”

“Go. Away.”

 “Is that what you really want?”

She could practically hear the cocky smirk in his reply. For her, Captain Valen Otar was the one bright spot in her life underground on an alien planet. Tall and muscular, with long, thick hair so black it looked almost blue in the light, she’d been intrigued by him from their first meeting.

She’d never admit it to anyone else—especially not Valen—but knowing he waited on the other side of the door made her pulse race and her stomach flutter. Still, she took her time going through her morning routine. Once she’d dressed in a loose, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of flowing pants, she toggled the switch twice more, rotating past the closet, her tiny shower, and finally back to the vanity. Then, she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and stared at herself in the mirror.

“Well,” she told her reflection, “this is as good as it gets.”

“Are you finished yet?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” Pushy bastard.

Settling her features into a carefully constructed mask of indifference, she pressed her fingertips to the bio-pad on the front wall. The door slid open with a quiet whoosh, and she used the sound to cover her slow exhale before stepping out into the wide, surgically white corridor.

“See? I’m here.”

Valen’s bright blue eyes narrowed, his gaze raking down her body as he dragged his tongue over one elongated canine. “Good morning, Star.”

“Get out of my head.” She folded her arms across her chest and glared. “It’s just weird.”

“My apologies,” he answered, his voice somehow deeper and even more appealing when used aloud. “I’m here to escort you to breakfast.”

His dusky, fitted uniform top hugged every dip and bulge of his powerful frame, and the matching leather bottoms clung to him like a second skin. Star swallowed hard to dislodge the lump in her throat. Her heart beat too fast, her palms slicked with perspiration, and a familiar ache throbbed between her thighs. It was the same every time she saw him, but as always, she held her impassive expression, unwilling to let him see how much he affected her.

“I can find my way to the mess hall just fine.”

“I know you can.” His predatory gaze strayed to her lips, and a deep rumble vibrated through his chest. “Maybe I simply wanted to ask you more questions about Earth.”

“Again?”

She didn’t know why he was so interested in her planet, but during the past few months, their routine had been as regular as the alarm that sounded in the morning. He arrived at her pod to walk her to breakfast, and on the way, he’d keep a steady flow of questions coming. He wanted to know about the mountains, the oceans, and the sand. He’d asked about cell phones, televisions, and microwaves.

While she enjoyed talking about Earth, mostly, she just enjoyed talking to Valen. He seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say, and he nodded his head at all the right times. He made her feel special, like he wanted to know her, and the way his eyes softened when he looked at her made her want to tell him anything…everything.

Nearing a curve in the hallway, a woman with short, dark hair and heavy shadows under her eyes caught Star’s attention, mostly because of the way she was staring at Valen. And that right there was why she kept the icy barrier between them, why she couldn’t let herself fall for the captain.

The woman watching them looked familiar, but not because Star knew her. She recognized her as one of the several women she’d watched Valen flirt with, take to his bed, then never speak to again. Oh, he was charming, and with the body of a god, she imagined he didn’t have to work too hard for what he wanted. Star couldn’t go down that path. She couldn’t open herself up that way, only to have him vanish from her life the next morning.

She needed him too much.

So, she feigned disinterest, bordering on annoyance, but she was careful to never push him too far away.

“Star? What’s wrong? What are you thinking?”

“Hmm?” Looking up at him, seeing the concern shining in his eyes, she reminded herself again why it was a terrible idea to fall for him. “Oh, nothing. Just thinking. What did you want to ask me?”

Busy preparing the underground cities for the Earthlings, Valen never been to their planet, but he’d heard stories from his brothers when they’d returned from battle. They’d said it was a glorious and majestic place, with sweeping fields and oceans as blue as its skies. As lovely as their descriptions sounded, he doubted the planet’s snow-capped mountains held even a fraction of the beauty as its female inhabitants.

When humans had first begun arriving on Aleucia, he’d been largely unimpressed with the males. Valen and his comrades had been bred for battle, each of them standing over seven feet tall and weighing close to three hundred pounds. Even Earth’s warriors looked like children next to them.

The females, however…oh, the females. Delicate and fair, with soft curves and smooth skin, he’d never seen any creature more alluring.

Then, he’d met Star Donavan.

She’d told him she was considered tall for a female on her planet, but the top of her head reached only to his sternum, and to him, she seemed petite, fragile. The billowy clothing she wore hid her curves from him, but every once in a while, she’d lift her arms, or move too quickly, and the hem of her blouse would rise, giving him just a glimpse of smooth, bare skin. The curve of her neck drew his gaze, and his mouth watered as he absently tongued his canines.

 “What exactly is a farm?” He slowed his strides to match hers when she started to lag behind him. “Is it different than a ranch? Both harvest animals, do they not?”

He’d read the reports, and therefore, knew the answers to his inquiries, but he loved to hear her talk. The way Star pronounced even commonplace words fascinated him, and he found something strangely soothing in the cadence of her voice.

For weeks, he’d been bombarding her with questions about her homeworld, and while she feigned annoyance, he detected a warmth and fondness in her tone.

“For the purpose of simplicity, they’re basically the same,” she said, her gaze far away as she thought about the answer. “Farms do have some animals, but they also grow food.”

“I thought you ate the animals for food?”

“Well, some, yes.” Her eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows drew together. “We also eat fruits and vegetables, nuts, things that aren’t meat. Some farms even grow wheat and other grains.”

He found it interesting that she still spoke of her planet in the present tense, as though she would someday return.

“You miss it.”

Star’s nostril’s flared, but she stared straight ahead and didn’t comment. For her, he made a concentrated effort to speak aloud instead of directly into her mind. It seemed incredibly inefficient, however, and vocalization didn’t come naturally to his race. Before he’d met the human female, he’d sometimes go months without uttering a single sound, not even a grunt. In fact, he’d probably spoken more in the short time since he’d known her than he had in the past two years combined.

“I do,” she finally admitted. “I miss a lot of things.” When they reached the double sliding doors that led to the cafeteria, she glanced at the fingerprint scanner but kept walking. “I’m not really hungry.”

Thankfully, he’d eaten before his shift started, so he didn’t mind skipping the loudness or the chaos of the mess hall. While he did worry about Star’s lack of appetite, he also knew it would only instigate an argument if he commented on it. He had so little time with her as it was, he didn’t want to spend it fighting.

Instead, he asked, “What do you miss the most?”

“I miss colors.” Ducking her head, she peeked up at him through her long lashes. “I miss the stars.”

A slow grin stretched his lips, and he grabbed her hand, squeezing when she tried to pull away from him. “Trust me.”

“I don’t even know you,” she argued, still trying to wrench her arm away as she struggled with him in the middle of the corridor. “Let me go.”

She pretended to be uninterested, unaffected, but Valen knew better. He could hear her pulse race, smell the sweet nectar that pooled between her legs. Her pale gray eyes narrowed, but not from anger or fear. No, there was something else there, something holding her back. Yet, it was obvious she wanted him. Almost as much as he wanted her.

Jerking the female forward, he locked his free arm around her waist, trapping her against his chest. She fit against him perfectly, like finding a missing piece of himself. His nostrils flared, and a low growl rumbled through his chest as he inhaled her sweet scent, the sound startling several passersby. The intoxicating fragrance reminded him of the cadinor plant—black reeds similar to Earth’s sugarcane—that grew along the banks of the underground rivers on Aleucia.

She’d been so skittish when they’d first met, and so he’d given her time, letting her get to know him, trust him. Patience wasn’t in his nature, and while she was worth it, he was tired of waiting. He wanted her, more than he’d ever wanted anyone or anything, and he intended to have her.

“You do know me, ahna,” he whispered into her mind. “Look at me.”

Star stopped struggling and relaxed into him with a pretty sigh. “I am looking at you.”

“No, you’re looking through me. Why are you afraid?”

Her chin jutted defiantly, and her cheeks flushed. “I’m not afraid.”

“Then, why do you fight me?”

“Maybe I just don’t like you,” she answered, but her tone lacked conviction. “I’m sure you’re used to women just dropping their panties for you, but that doesn’t mean you’re irresistible.”

What she said was true. He’d never found it difficult to bed a female, whether human or Aleucian, but he didn’t want someone else. The gods help him, but it had been months since he’d even looked at another female.

“I don’t want them. I want you.”

“Well, you can’t have me.” Star resumed her struggles, her heart beating frantically inside her chest. “Let me go.”

Frustrated by her resistance, especially because he knew her words to be untruthful, Valen released her with a sharp growl. “Why are you so stubborn?”

“Why do you care?” she countered, standing her ground.

Remembering that he didn’t want to fight with her, Valen exhaled slowly and reached out, catching her hand before she could pull away from him again. “Come with me, Star.”

Star stared back at him for several heartbeats, her expression unreadable. Then, she sighed, releasing the tension in her shoulders. “Fine, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” His grin stretched wider, and he pulled her close, leaning in to skim his nose along the curve of her jaw. “I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Then, he stepped away, took her wrist, and practically dragged her through the throng of bodies congregating in the hallway.

Jogging to keep up with his long strides, Star couldn’t wipe the smile from her face. His excitement was too infectious, and by the time they reached the end of the corridor, she found herself laughing, a genuine, pure sound full of joy and anticipation.

As an added bonus, with the guard as her escort, she had the perfect excuse to skip out on wash duty.

Not only did she loathe washing other people’s underwear, but the laundry room resided on the lowest level of the city, seventeen stories underground. She’d never been prone to claustrophobia, but even in the brightly-lit, cavernous room, she often felt like she couldn’t breathe right. 

“Where are you taking me?” Slowing to a stop, she managed to slip her wrist free of Valen’s grasp and eyed the lift reserved exclusively for the guards with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. “I’m not allowed.”

“You aren’t allowed without an escort,” he corrected. Stepping in front of her, Valen removed his security badge from his belt and passed it over the scanner. “Hurry, ahna. We don’t want to miss it.”

The light at the top corner of the scanner flickered from blue to yellow, and the lift doors slid open with a quiet whir. The circular elevator was big enough to hold only two people at a time, maybe three if everyone wanted to get really friendly, and like everything else in Hope, the interior was a startling white.

Valen swiped his badge over another scanner near the number panel and jabbed the first of seventeen buttons with his thumb. The other lifts in the underground city didn’t even have an option to select a level higher than Level 5 without special access.

She knew Level 2 and Level 3 housed the guards’ and officers’ quarters. The executive living quarters for the other staff in Hope, including Director Raxcor Wyeth’s personal suite, were located on Level 4. No one ever talked about what resided at the very top of the city, however, and her excitement returned when she realized she’d be the only human—apart from maybe the director’s mate—to know.

Her pulse sped when the lift slowed and the indicator light for Level 1 illuminated. Curling her fingers against her palms, she held her hands fisted at her sides and tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, waiting breathlessly for the doors to slide open.

When they did, she wasn’t disappointed.

“Oh, holy cow,” she breathed.

Instead of a white, barren corridor, the lift opened directly into a cavernous, circular room filled with mazes of buttons, knobs, and blinking lights. Several guards rushed around the room, flipping switches and speaking into microphones, while others sat in curved chairs that hovered two feet off the black-tiled floor, studying what looked like nothing more than blips and dots on holographic monitors.

“Welcome to Central Command,” Valen said into her mind, the smirk as clear in his tone as it was on his lips.

“I’m not supposed to be here.” Knowing he’d bent the rules thawed some of the ice around her heart, and she reached out, taking his hand to give it a gentle squeeze. “Why would you bring me here?”

Several of the guards halted when they noticed her, their brows furrowed, and their mouths set in hard lines. Without leaving her side, Valen spoke to them in the Aleucian language, his tone hard, brooking no argument. When he finished, the guards nodded as one, bowing their heads in respect, then returned to their tasks as if nothing had happened.

“Everything is okay,” he assured her, giving her a nudge deeper into the circular room.

Uneasy about the exchange, she hesitated for a moment, but she couldn’t resist the pull for long. “Can I…?”

“Come.” Still grasping her hand, Valen led her to the floor-to-ceiling, bowed window that stretched halfway around the outer edge of the room. “The sun is setting.”

“I thought it was morning.”

“Earth Standard Time,” Valen reminded her. “Everything in the city runs on what used to be Earth’s Central Standard Time.”

“Oh, right,” she answered distractedly as she moved closer to the window.

Star had never seen Aleucia, not even in pictures, but she imagined it to be a barren, desolate desert covered in sand and rocks based on what she knew of the temperatures. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Beyond the thick glass, a beautiful, lush oasis stretched out for as far as she could see in every direction.

Blades of grass in varying shades of orange swayed in the breeze, stretching all the way to the edge of sparkling sand the color of fresh-fallen snow. Flowers in every shade of the rainbow grew on the opposite bank of a crystalline pond, the lavender-colored water shimmering invitingly in the last rays of the setting sun.

“How is this possible?”

“Underground lakes and rivers, along with some creative irrigation.”

“That makes sense, but I meant, how am I able to see it?” Through the window, she could see the haze of the heat that floated over the ground, but when she pressed her hand to the glass, she found it only slightly warm.

Valen’s lips turned down at the corners, and his golden brows drew together. “I don’t understand the question.”

No, she supposed she wasn’t making much sense. “Why can no one else see this? Why is the rest of the city underground?”

“Ah,” he mused aloud with a quiet chuckle. Then, into her mind, “Partly to conserve energy and resources, but mostly for safety reasons. We didn’t want one of your people to wander outside and burn to death.”

Star liked to think that “her people” had more self-preservation than that, but she also had to admit the view beyond the window was tempting, almost unbearably so. “If anyone ever found out about this, people would riot.”

“Only a few humans know.” Stepping closer, Valen reached out to take both of her hands into his own. “Star, you can’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t. I swear.” She didn’t like it, but she understood the need for secrecy. Sliding her hands from his grasp, she balled them against her thighs and took a step back. She couldn’t think straight when he stood so close. “So, the entire city is run from here?”

“Mostly, yes.” His shoulders relaxed, and he seemed relieved by the change in topic. “This is where we monitor life-support systems, temperature regulation, and resident activity within Hope.”

Staring down at her feet while she processed the information, Star smiled at the vibrant blue carpet that covered the floor directly under the window. “This is new.” She looked up to find Valen frowning at her, and pointed at the carpet for clarification. “Color.”

Valen nodded as he choked back the sigh building in his chest. She missed color, and truth be told, so did he. Homes and business on Aleucia weren’t stark and barren like Hope. They were filled with warm, inviting colors in every shade imaginable, and city streets were lined with bouquets of bright flowers and beautiful art.

Star wouldn’t know it, but being assigned to Hope had been almost as much of an adjustment for the guards as it had been for the humans.

“The Council believed by limiting everything in the city to one color it would act as an equalizer and prevent disruption.”

“Well, they were wrong,” Star whispered, still staring down at the carpet with a strange expression on her face. “It just makes everyone miserable. Humans aren’t robots. We need a sense of individuality, a means to express ourselves, even through something as simple as the clothes we wear.”

The melancholy in her voice made his heart ache, which was a strange and uneasy feeling. His parents lived in one of the major cities on the other side of the planet, and he rarely spoke to them. He had no siblings, no extended family, and he wasn’t used to worrying about anyone except himself and those under his command.

Wanting to take away her sadness, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I can arrange a meeting with Director Wyeth. If the citizens are as unhappy as you say, perhaps he can persuade the Council to make some changes.”

“Really? You’d do that?”

If his heart ached before, the smile Star gave him nearly stopped it beating entirely. “If it would please you, then yes.”

“Yes,” Star practically shouted, drawing the attention of several nearby guards. “Yes, please,” she repeated in quieter tones. “I’d like that a lot. Thank you.” Pink stained her cheeks as she continued. “I used to be a fashion designer once upon a time. I don’t have any dye, but I could get a few samples together to show him.” Grabbing the hem of her shapeless blouse, she stretched the fabric and wrinkled her nose. “These things really are terrible.”

Valen understood the words she said, but not their meaning. Using context clues, he surmised she had designed human clothing on her homeworld, and she wasn’t happy with the Council-regulated garments. He really couldn’t blame her.

“You look beautiful in anything.”

The corners of her eyes softened, and her lips twitched as if she’d smile, but all she said was, “Charmer.” Then, she clasped her hands together beneath her chin and muttered under her breath as she paced in front of the window. “…remove the sleeves, yes, of course. More fitted…the neck…cinched sides.”

While he enjoyed listening to her babble, and he found her excitement endearing, she was missing the main reason he’d brought her to Level 1.

“Star.” He said her name quietly so as not to startle her.

She paused mid-stride and glanced up at him. “Hmm?”

“It’s nightfall.”

“Oh,” she muttered distractedly. “That’s good.”

Valen chuckled. “Star, look out the window.”

“Huh?” Looking up from her contemplation of the carpet, Star froze as she stared through the glass with wide eyes. “Oh, wow.” Slowly, she lifted her fingers to her lips, just as they stretched into a gentle smile filled with wonderment. “Oh, just…wow.”

Moving to stand behind her, Valen wound his arms around her narrow waist, pulling the female back against his chest and resting his chin atop her head. She didn’t struggle or fight him for once. On the contrary, she relaxed into him, sighing happily as they watched the last vestiges of daylight fade from the sky.

“The stars,” she whispered with a feminine giggle. “They’re beautiful.”

“Not nearly as beautiful as you.”

Star didn’t answer right away, and when she did speak, her tone was warm, soft, and lacking its usual edge.

“This is amazing, Valen,” she whispered, her usual defensive guards completely removed. “Thank you so much for bringing me here.”

In that moment, with the heat of her body pressed against him, he knew there wasn’t anything in his world or any other that he wouldn’t do for her.

CHAPTER TWO

Star was in a mood.

After the sweet way Valen had held her, the lovely things he’d said to her, she’d begun to let herself believe that maybe he really did care about her. She’d awoken the next morning with renewed excitement, eager to see him, but he hadn’t come to her pod like he had every other morning for the past several months. In fact, she hadn’t seen him all week, not at her pod, not in the corridors. He hadn’t sought her out, or asked her endless questions about Earth. He’d just been gone, and his absence had hurt.

Maybe he’d finally realized that she wasn’t worth all the trouble. Maybe if she hadn’t been such a bitch to him, constantly pushing him away, he wouldn’t be avoiding her. Maybe he’d given up and moved on to someone else, a woman more than willing to show him even a modicum of interest and affection.

It wasn’t as if there was a shortage of women vying for his attention.

“Maybe if wishes were horses, beggars would ride,” she mumbled aloud to no one in particular.

The only consolation was the email she’d received earlier that morning, informing her that she had a meeting scheduled with Director Wyeth the next day. The message had come from the director’s assistant, though, not Valen, which had lanced some of the excitement from it.

Damn, she needed to let it go. Valen had come through for her, and she had no right to ask anything more than that. She had no claim to him, and she’d made it clear that she wanted none. It shouldn’t matter to her if he’d spent the week between the legs of every woman in the city.

It shouldn’t matter. She shouldn’t care. So, why did it hurt so much?

Let it go, she thought. She had more important things to worry about than pining over some guy. Taking a moment to compose herself, she breathed in deeply, released it slowly, and shook off her maudlin mood.

She had work to do.

During lunch, she had gone to every table, practically begging the citizens of the city to spare their blueberries. Of course, asking people to hand over the one thing on their plate with any sort of flavor hadn’t gone over well.

Using samples of Earth’s vegetation—along with their superior technology—the Aleucians had done their best to replicate foods they thought would appeal to humans. Mostly, it looked like any main course found in a restaurant, but that was where the similarities stopped.

Clearly, no one had told them about spices or condiments, because basically everything tasted slightly better than cardboard. The exception being certain fruits and vegetables grown in the modified greenhouses on Level 15.

These foods, however, were finite, and growing them took time. The blueberries available at lunch had been the first fresh fruit offered in weeks, and it had taken a lot of bribing, bargaining, and persuading for people to part with them. Maybe it would have been easier if she’d told them why she needed the berries, but she had no idea if Director Wyeth would approve the new clothes or not. Until it was official, she didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up or make promises she couldn’t keep.

So, for now, they just thought she was a berry-hoarding nut job.

Fantastic.

After lunch, she’d tied all the blueberries she’d been able to collect into an extra shirt and hauled them down to the laundry room. She’d received a few questioning looks on the lift, and even outright inquiries from those she worked with, but she’d stayed mum. Since she preferred privacy to work on her designs, she’d been forced to tuck her treasure into a corner away from prying eyes, and go about her usual duties for the next several hours.

On the bright side, washing, drying, pressing, folding, and sorting—such menial and boring tasks—suddenly didn’t seem like such a chore. With every new garment, she imagined how she could change it, how she could make it better, different. Working this way, the hours flew by, and when the alarm had blared to indicate the end of the workday, she’d been so startled, she’d burned her hand on one of the presses.

Once everyone had cleared out of the laundry room, she’d eagerly retrieved the blueberries from their lonely corner, unwrapped her prize, and set to work turning them into a makeshift dye. She had no way to boil the fruit, but she’d soaked them in the hottest water she had access to, then spent another hour stomping the hell out of them until she had a thick, goopy paste.

There had only been enough dye for one blouse, and a dress she’d constructed from the fabric of another shirt and a pair of pants, but she didn’t need a whole wardrobe. Since the skin on her feet was still purple and blue, she was optimistic the white fabric had been transformed as well, but there was still a hint of uncertainty as she opened the door of the washing machine to retrieve her items.

If it didn’t work, she’d just deprived a lot of people of one of the few pleasures in Hope for no good reason.

“Okay, here we go. Please, please, let this work.” Reaching into the machine, she removed the first blouse, pleased by its purple hue. “Yes,” she breathed. “Oh, thank you.”

“Who are you talking to?”

Star screamed.

She wasn’t proud of it, but there it was. Focused on her task, she hadn’t heard the doors slide open, nor the echo of boots over the tiled floor.

“Damn it, Valen!” she chastised. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Apologies, my lady.” His lips curved on one side of his mouth, and he gave her a shallow bow. “You didn’t answer my question, though. Who were you speaking with? Is there someone here with you?”

If she didn’t know better, she’d say he sounded jealous. “No one here. I was talking to myself. I do that sometimes.”

His expression cleared, and the muscles in his shoulders relaxed. “Why are you here alone? Your shift ended several hours ago.”

Star responded with a question of her own. “How did you know to find me here?”

“Your MINT chip.”

Glancing down at the small, raised bump on the inside of her wrist, Star nodded. The Monitoring and Identification Neurological Transmitter acted as an ID, allowing her to make purchases and access certain locations with nothing more than a wave of her hand over a scanner. The chip also transmitted her vital signs and location to a specialized network that permitted the guards to monitor her every move twenty-four hours a day.

Everyone in the city hated being microchipped like a damn dog, but it was just another price they paid for survival.

“You know, on Earth, that would be considered stalking.”

“Then it’s fortuitous for me that we are not on Earth.”

It occurred to her that he’d spoken every word aloud since entering the laundry room and scaring the bejesus out of her. He made the effort when she reminded him, but usually within a few exchanges, he slipped back into telepathic communication. This was probably the most she’d ever heard him speak aloud. Normally, she’d be happy about it, but now, after spending all week letting her imagination run wild about where he’d been and who he might have been with, it just annoyed her.

“Stop it.”

Valen frowned. “What am I doing?”

“That!” She jabbed her stained-purple index finger at him. “Right there. Stop it.”

His frown deepened, accompanied by a crease across his brow. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Why are you talking out loud?” she demanded, frustration and hurt making her tone sharper than she’d intended. Damn, she’d missed him, but she couldn’t let herself think that way. “You never do that.”

“I thought you preferred for me to communicate with you this way.”

“I do, but you never listen.”

With a quiet chuckle, the captain shook his head. “You are very confusing, Star.”

“And you’re frustrating.”

Valen clenched his teeth to hold back his growl. The female had no idea what frustration was. Seeing her every day, being near enough to smell her sweet scent, to hear the steady pulsing of her heart, but never being able to hold her, touch her, kiss her—that was frustrating.

He’d gone out of his way to make her comfortable, to do everything she asked of him, and still, she maintained her distance. Oh, she offered him her coy smiles and small glimpses behind her carefully constructed mask of indifference, just enough to keep him coming back for more.

There was no word in his language for the abstract concept of love. Love was a fickle and fleeting emotion, undefined and ever changing. What he felt for Star went much deeper, coiling and weaving through his very core, until it had become as much a part of him as his beating heart. The light within him glowed only for her, and it would never fade, never flicker. He’d never desire another, not even if he wanted. It was the way of his people, the hallmark of a mated male, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

He hadn’t meant for it to happen, hadn’t intended to sink so far, but it was too late now.

“Why do you fight me?” He didn’t expect an answer, but he had to ask. “Why do you push me away?”

Tilting her head back, Star stared at him through narrowed eyes. “I don’t.”

“You do.” He moved toward her, sighing when she retreated from him. “I know you feel something for me. I can hear your heart pounding right now.”

“So what if I do?” she shot back. “What does it matter?”

Her answer made no sense to him. “It matters, and you know it.”

“Why?” Even as the word left her mouth, she shook her head and waved a shaking hand at him. “You know what? Never mind. Don’t answer that. Look, I’ll make this simple, okay?” Her eyes widened, and her nostrils flared as if her next words caused her physical pain. “I’m not interested in being just another notch on your bedpost.”

Most human slang was lost on him, but he was able to piece enough together to understand her meaning. “Oh, ahna, is that what you think?”

Her head jerked up, and she glared at him again. “Where were you all week?”

Valen rubbed the clenched muscles at the back of his neck, his heart aching at the pain etched in her beautiful eyes. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

She wasn’t ready, not yet, and if he confided in her, she’d only think he was trying to manipulate her into bed. It hurt to know she thought so little of him, but on the other hand, he knew full well the reputation that followed him throughout the city.

Star glared at him, spine stiff, arms folded defensively over her breasts. “Try me.”

In response, Valen held out his hand. “Come with me.”

“What? No.” She took a deliberate step back and shook her head. “Just tell me where you were.”

He hadn’t anticipated that she’d feel his absence so keenly, but nor did he know what to make it of it. “It’s better if I show you.”

Star sighed. She didn’t know what that meant, but she imagined it couldn’t be anything good. “I have things to do here. I can’t just leave.”

“They’ll hold until we return.” Again, he held his hand out to her. “Please, will you come with me?”

His request was tight, strained, as if he’d never uttered the words before, and Star imagined he hadn’t. As captain, he issued orders, and he expected those orders to be obeyed without question or hesitation. Asking for what he wanted didn’t come easily, and she appreciated how difficult it must be for him.

“Okay,” she relented. He was trying. The least she could do was hear him out, even if it wouldn’t change anything. “I can’t be gone long, though.”

Valen bowed his head. “As you wish.”

Before she could change her mind, he grabbed her hand and led her out of the laundry room, through the long, curving corridor, right to the guards’ elevator. After he’d ushered her inside, he swiped his badge over the scanner, waited for the light to blink, indicating his credentials had been accepted, then pressed his thumb to the second, circular button.

As the lift began to rise, he leaned back against the wall, crossed his arms, and stared straight ahead. He didn’t speak, didn’t look at her, and she had to watch his chest carefully to make sure he was breathing. Usually, she couldn’t shut him up, and his sudden silence made her nervous.

“Valen?”

“Yes?”

Clearly, he’d exhausted his limit for vocal conversation.

“Um, why are we going to the officers’ quarters?”

“We’re going to my quarters,” he corrected.

Okay. That still didn’t answer her question, but from his tone, she guessed she wouldn’t get any more out of him. 

Arms held taut at her sides, she clenched and unfurled her fingers over and over, trying to rid her body of the excess energy. In all the time she’d known Valen, she’d never been uneasy around him, but his tense posture and brooding glare made her heart pound and her stomach roll uncomfortably.

He shifted his weight, first left, then to the right. His lips pressed together in a tight line, and the cords in his neck strained and bulged each time he swallowed. Measuring his reactions against her own, it abruptly dawned on her that she’d read the situation entirely wrong.

Valen wasn’t angry with her. He was scared. Or at the very least, he was apprehensive. About what, she couldn’t guess, but his vulnerability touched her in a way all his charm and flirtations never could. Whatever he wanted to show her, he worried about her response. Maybe that should have frightened her, but it didn’t. On the contrary, she found it oddly endearing.

The digital display panel over the sliding door counted down to Level 3. The lift slowed, coming to a stop with a slight bounce before the door opened with a mechanical whir. The corridor beyond was not unlike any other hallway in the city—white lights gleaming off white metal and reflected in a white, tiled floor. The only difference was the doors set into the curved walls every twenty feet or so.

Valen still didn’t speak, and he didn’t touch her. Hell, he didn’t even glance in her direction before marching out of the elevator. Passing the white doors with opaque portholes, he led her through the curve of the corridor before coming to such an immediate stop Star almost collided with his broad back. Peeking around his arm, she realized he hadn’t been the only thing to stop—the corridor had as well.

The only way forward was through another white door, this one slightly taller and wider than the others. The muscles in Valen’s shoulders strained, and tension practically bled from his pores as he pressed his thumb to the scanner nestled into a small recess in the wall. When the door slid open without a sound, he angled to the side and bowed his head, motioning her ahead of him.

Unsure of how to respond, Star nodded. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but stepping into his quarters was…surreal. Lights flickered to life one by one, following her progress into the room and illuminating the various pieces of artwork on the walls.

“This is your room?” 

There was no white to be found anywhere in the captain’s quarters. Even the walls had been repainted to a deep, dark blue that contrasted perfectly with the sand-colored carpet. Like a little girl on Christmas morning, Star giggled as she curled her toes through the soft fibers, loving the texture against her skin.

Wild and vivid, abstract masterpieces painted in every shade of the rainbow hung around the room, the bright, bold lines evoking an array of emotions within her. She didn’t know where to look first, and the more she tried to take in, the harder it became to breathe.

“I love it.” She didn’t know why he’d brought her there, but it didn’t matter. Right then, nothing else mattered.

Standing in the center of his living area, Star felt the warmth of his body against her back before he ever touched her. Anticipation raised the hair along her arms, and the whisper of his breath across the side of her neck made her shiver.

Valen shuffled closer, his head bent next to her ear, but still, he didn’t touch her. “Look up, ahna.”

Tilting her head back, Star wrinkled her brow, her lips pulling downward at the corners. It took several seconds for her to understand what she was seeing. The ceiling high above her had been painted a deep, dark blue with shades of silver swirled throughout to create a haunting mural of the night sky that made her breath catch and her heart ache.

She turned one way, then the other, laughing with unadulterated joy. Thousands of tiny, clear stones had been scattered throughout the blue, each one gleaming in the recessed lighting so that they sparkled like stars. It was the most beautiful, wonderful thing she’d ever seen, and tears welled along her lower lashes as her longing intensified.

“I don’t know what to say,” she admitted.

“Say you like it,” Valen answered quietly as he ran his hands up and down her arms. “Tell me it brings you happiness.”

Star nodded. Stopped. Shook her head. “I don’t understand.” Turning to face him, she cocked her head to the side and studied him for several, long moments. “You did all of this…for me?”

Valen didn’t answer right away, but his hands settled on her hips, urging her closer. “And now you know.”

“Know what?” Her heart pounded, and her legs began to tremble.

“That there’s nothing in the universe I wouldn’t do for you.” Bending, he skimmed his nose along the column of her throat and growled. “My ahna. My heart. My mate.”

CHAPTER THREE

The minutes ticked by, one fading into the next, and just when Valen thought she wouldn’t respond, Star threw her arms around his neck and squeezed until the breath rushed from his lungs. Her shoulders shook with sobs as she buried her face against the side of his throat, and when he lifted her into his arms, she latched onto him even tighter.

Of all the reactions he’d expected, this hadn’t been one of them.

Carrying her to the plush, beige sofa positioned in front of the video monitor, he settled down on the cushions as he stroked her hair. “Oh, ahna. It wasn’t my intention to upset you.”

“I’m not upset,” she sniffled, sitting up to face him. Tears trekked down her cheeks, and her smooth, creamy skin was flushed with pink. “I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes roughly and huffed. “I swear I’m not usually so emotional.”

Carefully, as if she was made of the finest crystal, Valen brushed the hair back from her face and pressed his lips to her brow. “There is no reason to apologize. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“You did all of this for me.” Tears gathered in her eyes once more as she looked around the room. “It’s perfect.”

He was pleased to hear it, but he still didn’t understand. “Then, why are you crying?”

Star hiccupped adorably as she fell against his chest. “Because I’m happy.”

Human females were very odd. “That makes no sense.”

He didn’t have much experience with tears. Most of the females he knew from his own race were warriors, and on the rare occasion they succumbed to emotional outbursts, someone usually ended up bloody. He had no context for Star’s tears, no precedence he could draw on to help him navigate this storm.

So, he did the only thing he could. He took her face as gently as possible, cradling it between his hands, and kissed her.

Which only made her cry harder.

Admitting defeat, he slumped back on the sofa and just held her. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what he’d done wrong, but it seemed like a good place to start. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“Don’t.” Sitting up in his lap, her thighs straddling his hips, she used the sleeve of her blouse to swipe at her face. “I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

She had nothing to be sorry for, but they’d get to that. “Let’s start with something easier.” Sliding his fingers through her hair, he cupped the side of her face, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away a tear she’d missed. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m…overwhelmed.” She looked up at the ceiling, and her lips parted in a dazzling smile. “You did all of this for me, and after I’ve been so awful to you.”

The more she spoke, the more confused he became. “Explain.” Realizing that in his frustration his request had come as more of a command, he tacked on, “Please.”

Instead of elaborating, she asked a question of her own. “Do you bring other females to your quarters?”

“Never.”

She nodded as if confirming something to herself, then waved a hand to encompass the entirety of the room. “When did you do all of this?”

“Recently,” he hedged.

“That’s why you were gone all week.” She waved her hand around again. “This is what you were doing?”

Valen held her gaze but didn’t move, didn’t speak.

“What if I had said no? What if I had refused to come with you tonight?”

“I would have waited until you were ready.” Finally, he began to understand where the conversation was headed, and the relief made him grin. “Even if you refuse me a hundred times, I’ll still wait.” Wrapping her golden hair around his hand, he urged her forward to claim her lips. “I want you. Only you.” He kissed her again. “Always you.”

“I want you, too,” she admitted, her voice quiet, weak. “I always have, but I didn’t want to want you. Does that make sense?”

Not in the slightest. “Continue.”

“I saw how you were with other women. You’d flirt for a few days, then I’d never see you with them again, so I knew.”

He was afraid to ask, but fear had never stopped him before. “Knew what?”

“You’d charm them into bed, then move on to the next.” Her eyes narrowed. “Tell me I’m wrong,” she challenged.

He could tell her that, but it would be a lie. He hadn’t cared about any of those females, nor had he ever made them any promises. Perhaps a few had thought they could change his mind, but he’d been upfront with each of them about what he wanted.

Sex. A mutual, physical release. No commitment. No repeat performance.

“You’re not wrong.”

Star sighed and lowered her eyes as she plucked at the fabric of his black T-shirt. “At first, it didn’t matter. I mean, I’ve got nothing against casual sex between consenting adults. It’s not like I’ve been celibate since I came here.”

Valen growled, the sound echoing throughout the room. He had no right to his jealousy, but the thought of another male touching her, kissing her, hearing her sweet sighs of passion made him see red.

A coy smile curved her lips, but she didn’t comment on his outburst. “All I’m trying to say is that I didn’t care at first. Then…”

When she trailed off and ducked her head, he gripped her chin gently and lifted her face so he could see into her eyes. “You can tell me anything, ahna.”

“Then,” she breathed, “I cared too much. I liked you too much.”

“I’m not proud of my past.” But nor was he ashamed. It simply…was. “I can’t change it, but I can promise you that I don’t want any other female.” He caressed the side of her neck, cupping his hands around the delicate column. “I want you, Star Donavan. Only you.” Galaxies, he was a sap, a complete and utter fool, but he needed to hear her say it. “Only like?”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.” Curling her fingers around his wrist, she stared back him with a mixture of wonder and apprehension. “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you.”

Grinning wide enough to show his fangs, Valen dipped his head, capturing her lips in a kiss that stole his breath. “I am honored by this happy accident.” Then aloud, “I love you, my beautiful ahna.”

The sentiment felt foreign, awkward, insufficient. What he felt for her went so much deeper, beyond anything worthy of words. Aleucians mated for life, and the bond was unwavering, inflexible. He’d never desire another, for no other female existed to him now. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, nothing he wouldn’t give her. He’d kill to protect her, and sacrifice anything to make her happy.

Once he claimed her, bonded them, he would be hers to command forevermore. His heart, his body, his soul, they would yield to her will, bend at her mercy.

“You look like you swallowed a bug,” Star said, interrupting his thoughts. “You don’t like that word, do you? Love?” Her smile brightened the entire room as she leaned forward to brushed their lips together again. “It’s okay, Valen. You don’t have to say it.”

But she wasn’t of his world. She needed to hear the words. He needed her to hear them, to feel them, to know she was cherished and treasured.

“I love you,” he whispered. He kissed her soundly, rolling her to the side and pressing her back into the cushions as he loomed over her. “I love you.” Stronger this time. “I love you.” Each time he repeated the phrase, it came a little easier, felt less remote. “I love you.”

Her feminine giggle made his heart pound and his cock swell inside his leathers. Gods, she was beautiful, so full of life and happiness. He never wanted to see her sad again, and he’d destroy anyone who darkened the light that shined within her.

“Be mine,” he said quietly into her mind as he bent to nuzzle the fragrant skin of her neck. “Say you’ll be mine. Tell me.” The thought of sinking his fangs into her skin, marking her for everyone to see, made his head spin and his eyes cross. He wanted that. Needed it. “Say yes. Say yes, Star.”

Her reply was breathless, faint, but music to his ears.

“Yes.”

He needed her with something akin to pain. His skin burned, his cock swelled and pulsed, his chest tightened, making it difficult to pull air into his aching lungs. Every fiber of his being called out for him to shred her clothing, bare her to his gaze, and burying himself into her welcoming heat. He’d take her right there on the sofa, or the floor, ravish her like the beast that he was until they were both limp and shaking.

Holy solar flare, he wanted her, but not like that, not this time.

Star stiffened when Valen pulled away and stood, turning his back to her. The joy she’d felt just a moment before vanished, replaced by confusion and uncertainty. The Aleucian’s might not have a word for love, but she had no context for it. Other than what she’d seen in movies and heard in songs, she had no experience with the concept. Which was probably why it had taken her so long to realize she’d gone and fallen for the sexy captain.

She missed him when they were apart. She worried about his safety, and the thought of him with another woman—uh, female—made her stomach convulse and her temples pound. Jealousy was another emotion she’d never experienced before coming to Hope, not the in the traditional sense of the word anyway. Now, she found herself wanting to wrap around Valen, press into him, invade him, consume him until every memory of other women had been scrubbed clean, and only she remained.

Though it had been unnatural for him, he’d said he loved her. He’d done it to make her happy, to prove his commitment, and she’d felt her heart would burst from the declaration. Then…something had changed. She’d felt it in his tight muscles, had seen it in the way his bright, sapphire blue eyes glazed, became unfocused, and stared right through her.

Sitting up on the sofa, she reached for him, but stopped before she made contact. “Valen?”

“Yes, my ahana?”

Well, that was a good sign, but his voice sounded all wrong—tight, strained. “Valen, what is it?”

“Everything is well.”

Clearly. If the cords in his neck strained any more, they’d slice right through his skin. “Hey, talk to me.”

She touched his elbow, only to jerk back when he spun to face her, fangs bared, eyes wild. In one fluid movement, his arm locked around her waist, and he jerked her against him so that she could feel every hard bulge of his muscles. His mouth crashed down on hers, his tongue plunging between her lips in a desperate, searching kiss. Her eyes rolled back in her head, her body melting as need slicked her core. 

Lifting her from the floor, Valen held her tight to his chest as he swept her across the room and up a staircase that led to a loft big enough for only a bed and a single, simple dresser. She bounced twice on the mattress when he dropped her roughly, vaguely noticing the vibrant green of the comforter before her attention was drawn back to the male at her side.

Quick and efficient, he divested his uniform, then made easy work of removing her clothing as well, showing the fabric no mercy as he pulled and ripped at it. Naked, chest heaving, skin tingling, she watched as he rose from the mattress to stand at the foot of the bed.

“I need to see you. Open for me, Star.”

A sudden wave of shyness overcame her, but she willed herself to relax as she moved one leg to the side. The deep growl that answered bolstered her courage, and she slid down lower on the mattress, opening her legs wider to his hungry gaze.

“Exquisite.” The rumbling intensified, echoing around the room. “I want to taste you.”

Star rocked her hips up in invitation. “What are you waiting for?”

His nostrils flared, his upper lip curling over his fangs. Easing onto the mattress, he inched toward her, falling between the apex of her thighs. A satisfied grunt mingled with the vibration of his growl as he slid one finger along her slick folds.

“So perfect. So hot.” Lowering his head, he traced the same path with his tongue, pausing at the top of her cleft to circle the pulsing bundle of nerves. “Divine,” he breathed into her mind. “You taste like nectar. Sweet. Rich. Addicting.”

Star couldn’t breathe. Her entire body quaked, and her pussy clenched, slicking her core with a fresh wave of moisture. Instinctively, she reached for him, but he caught her wrist easily and pressed her hand down against the comforter.

“Let me take care of you.”

And oh, hell, did he ever.

He sucked hard at her clitoris, then laved his tongue over the flesh to soothe the sting. Hard and fast. Slow and languid. His pace drove her high, brought her back down, then pushed her to the precipice once again. Every touch was controlled, purposeful, strumming her body like a finely tuned instrument.

“Yes, ahna,” Valen growled when she arched her hips. “That’s it. Yes.”

“Valen!”

Fire flowed through her veins, her nipples tingled, and her skin felt too tight, as if she’d burst free of it when she finally tumbled over the edge.

“Yes,” he repeated in his deep, gravelly voice. “Come for me. Let me watch you fall apart.”

He punctuated his words by sliding two fingers into her aching pussy and twisting his wrist. His thumb found her swollen clit, and he rubbed it in time to the thrust of his hand, leaving her helpless against his command.

Crying his name, she fell back on the bed, shaking and writhing as her orgasm rolled through her in violent waves. She sank into darkness. Floated. Shattered.

When she eventually surfaced, it wasn’t to the warm glow she’d expected. Instead, she was hit with a wave of coldness, acutely aware that something had changed. “Valen?”

Kneeling at the foot of the bed, he looked into her eyes, then bowed his head. “Thank you. That was…I have no words.”

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

A muscle in his jaw ticked, while the tendons in his shoulders tightened, pushing against his bronzed skin. His cock jutted proudly from between his thighs, swollen and rigid, a vein along the side pulsing with his quickened pulse. Still, he made no move to approach her.

“Valen?”

“Stay back,” he barked when she reached for him. Then softer, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Awareness emerged, and Star melted just a little inside. Her big, brave, badass warrior was using every ounce of willpower he possessed to restrain himself. Luckily for him, she didn’t want his restraint.

“You won’t hurt me.” Naïve, perhaps, but she knew she spoke the truth. Taking both of his hands, she pulled him closer, smiling when he came to her willingly, almost dazedly. “If you’re worried, though, let me be in control for a little while.” She urged him to lean back against the headboard, her chest constricting when he looked up at her with total trust and adoration. “It’s my turn to take care of you.”

Valen held his breath as Star pushed his legs wide and settled down on the bed between his thighs. Other females had tried, but he’d never allowed it, had never wanted it. Not the intimacy. Not that level of vulnerability. Everything was different with his ahna.

She took him in hand, fisting his shaft at the base, and when her soft lips closed around the crown of his cock, he fisted his hands in the comforter and groaned. Gods, it felt amazing. The moist heat of her mouth. The softness of her hand. She slid up and down his erection, her lips and fingers working in tandem to push him closer to the edge.

“Fuck, yes. A little deeper.”

With a hum, she obliged him, lowering over him until the flared head pressed against the velvety heat at the back of her throat.

Valen roared, and perspiration beaded across his forehead as he struggled to remain still. His mate was talented, knowing when to increase her pace and when to back off, leading him right to the pinnacle over and over again. Mostly, it was knowing that she offered him pleasure willingly, eagerly, without demanding anything in return that truly undid him.

Gripping her under her arms, he lifted her, sliding her lithe body up his chest until she straddled his thighs, and kissed her hard. The scent of her arousal permeated the air, hitting him right between the eyes like a hammer. Reaching between her splayed thighs, he growled deep in his chest when his fingers came away slick with her desire.

“You are needing again.”

“I need you,” Star corrected, rocking against him.

“Then have me.” Locking one arm around her waist, he lifted his mate, poising her over his hard length. “Take from me, ahna. Take what you need.”

Her creamy skin flushed an alluring shade of pink, and her eyes turned glassy with passion as she lowered over him, taking him inside her until he was seated to the base. Great galaxies, she was beautiful, and he could try for a thousand years and never be worthy of her.

But she was his. His mate. His heart. The glow of her skin, the tightness of her wet heat, the sweet sighs and moans that fell from her kiss-swollen lips, they were all for him. No male would ever touch her again, because he’d kill anyone who even looked at her in a way he found displeasing.

“Oh, gods, yes,” he groaned into her mind. “Just like that. Don’t stop.”

Holding her closer, he dipped his head, capturing one of her upturned nipples between his teeth. He nipped gently, tugging and suckling, until his mate went stiff in his arms, her steady rhythm faltering as she trembled against him.

Caging her with his arms, he helped her move, lifting and lowering as he arched his back and thrusted into her. Star fell over him, her golden locks cascading down his arm while her fingers gripped his shoulders. As he teetered on the verge of release, his gaze locked on the supple skin of her neck, and a deep, primal growl rolled up from his chest.

Wordlessly, she swept her hair back and tilted her head, exposing the delicate column of her throat in offering.

With a roar that shook the walls, he closed his mouth over the flesh, sinking his canines through her skin. Her body jerked at first, but relaxed almost immediately, and Valen rumbled with satisfaction as her core convulsed around him, gripping him, milking him. He bit deeper, ensuring his mark would stay right where it was supposed to be so that every male would know she belonged to him, and they would fear the consequences of coveting what was his.

As the last throaty moan faded from her lips, he clutched her tight, extracting his fangs as he jerked her down on his cock, burying himself to the hilt and spilling himself inside her clenching depths.

Star collapsed, her sweat-dampened body draped across his chest. As he struggled to catch his breath, she pressed a tender kiss to the side of his neck and sighed.

“What is it, my ahna?”

“I love you.”

He clutched her close, still amazed that she would choose him. “You are my everything.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Sitting on the oversized sofa in Director Wyeth’s private office, Star shifted to one hip, then the other. She wrung her hands together. She bent, ran her fingers along the seam of her messenger bag, sat up, twirled her fingers together, then bent to touch the bag again.

The third time she moved to check her bag, Valen caught her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the center of her palm. “Relax, ahna. You’re going to change the city.”

Star groaned. “Great, no pressure or anything.”

“Look at me.” He growled when she ignored him. “You are beautiful and brilliant, full of fire and determination.” His smile was wide when her head snapped up, then gentled as he tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “No matter what happens here, I’m honored to call you my mate.”

“Oh,” she whispered, her breath catching in the back of her throat. “That was good.”

Though they’d spent the entire night in Valen’s bed, she’d been worried that things would change once they left the privacy of his quarters. Thankfully, that hadn’t been the case, and she felt like an asshole for even considering that it might.

“Thank you,” she continued, then laughed when he frowned at her. “Thank you for setting up this meeting, for being here with me.” Tangling her fingers in the collar of his uniform, she pulled him closer to rest their brows together. “Just…thank you for everything.”

“You only have to ask.” Holding her chin gently between his thumb and the knuckle of his forefinger, he lifted her head, meeting her with a chaste kiss. “I love you, ahna.”

She knew he only said it for her, so that she would know that what he felt wasn’t fleeting or shallow. She’d meant it when she’d said she didn’t need to hear the words. She knew he loved her. She could feel it in his touch, his kiss, see it in the way he looked at her. Still, she melted every time the declaration left his lips.

The door of the office slid open with a quiet whoosh that startled her, nonetheless. Jerking away from Valen as if he’d burned her, she leapt to her feet and nervously smoothed the wrinkles from her silky, white pants. Valen was slower to rise, but when he did, he stood close to her side, lending her his warmth and strength.

“You can do this.” His big hand landed on the center of her back, calming some of her anxiety. “You can do anything.”

Another voice drifted into her head, this one unfamiliar, and instantly, the apprehension returned.

“Miss Donavan. I have another meeting in ten minutes, so speak quickly.”

Without looking at her, Director Raxcor Wyeth strode across the room to the floor-to-ceiling vid panels that depicted a busy Earth city. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to the pedestrians scampering along the sidewalks, but he didn’t seem interested in anything she had to say, either. With his hands folded behind his back, his golden hair falling over his tense shoulders, he looked as though he already considered the meeting finished.

Well, she had ten minutes, and she intended to make the best of them.

Picking up her messenger bag, she removed the blouse and the dress that she’d designed. The color had turned out beautifully, better than she’d anticipated. Considering she’d only had a pair of scissors, a needle, and a spool of white thread to work with, she was pretty damn proud of the dress.

“On Earth,” she began, hesitating when the director grunted. Taking a calming breath, she took courage from Valen’s presence and pressed on. “On Earth, I was a fashion designer. I made clothes for people,” she elaborated in case he didn’t know what her job title meant. “I was good at it.”

“You have clothes here. Made by machines.”

“Yeah, and they suck,” she shot back, her temper flaring.

Realizing that she’d practically barked at the director of the city, she nearly fainted at her own boldness. She expected Valen to reprimand her, but when she peeked at him from the corner of her eye, he had his lips pressed together in a thin line as if trying not to laugh.

Director Wyeth didn’t look like he had ever laughed a day in his life, but he wasn’t kicking her out of his office, either. Small miracles.

“What I mean is that while the clothes in Hope do serve their basic function, clothing isn’t meant to be basic. It’s an extension of identity, which is something people have very little of here.”

“You have a name,” the director said into her mind, though he still hadn’t turned to face her. “You have a position within the city. What more of an identity do you need?”

Squaring her shoulders, Star took a measured step forward. “One that isn’t labeled for me by you or your Council or anyone else. An identity that is my own.”

“The clothing provided is efficient.”

“And boring.” She held up the dress. “If you’ll just look at the samples I brought, maybe—”

“My answer is no. This meeting is over.”

Star fumed, and her fingers clenched around the fabric in her hands. “Why did you even agree to meet with me if you’re not willing to listen?”

Finally, the director turned, his eyes—the same brilliant shade of blue as Valen’s—were calm, detached, cold. “I listened,” he said aloud. “I simply do not agree.”

“You’re doing it again,” a feminine voice called, her tone full of censure. “Stop being a dick, Raxcor.”

Consumed by her ire, Star hadn’t heard the office door slide open again, nor had she heard the footsteps that padded across the floor, not until the woman stood directly in front of her.

“Hi,” she said with a beaming smile. “I’m Mesa Wyeth.”

Of course, everyone in Hope knew about the director’s new mate, but Star had pictured someone much different in her mind. Someone not as…sweet.

“Star…”

She trailed off, unsure of how to finish that sentence. Valen had claimed her, but there had been no ceremony, nothing to legally bind them. Mesa had obviously taken her mate’s last name, but Star didn’t know how she felt about that. 

“Whatever makes you happy,” Valen told her, clearly guessing the reason for her distress. “It’s just a name. I won’t be offended.”

It was more than just a name, though. It was a union.

“Do you need a minute to think about it?” Mesa asked, her gaze straying to the mating mark on Star’s neck. “I see congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you.” Star dipped her head. “I’m Star. Star Donavan-Otar.”

“Then, it’s very nice to meet you Star Donavan-Otar.” Flicking her fingers over her shoulder, she made a little hmph sound in the back of her throat. “Don’t mind the big guy over there. He can’t help himself. So, what did you come to show us?”

Oh, Star liked her. She liked her a lot.

“I requested a meeting to discuss a change in the clothing we’re forced to wear.” Taking a step back, she held the dress up, watching Mesa’s eyes light up as the skirt swayed in the breeze from the vents in the ceiling. “I’m proposing adding a little color to things around here, and maybe something that doesn’t look like a damn sack.”

“Oh. My. Word.” With trembling hands, Mesa skimmed her fingers over the silky material. Her eyes grew wide, the rims shining with moisture. “This is beautiful.” She looked up with the hint of a smile. “May I?”

“Absolutely. It’s about your size. Give it a try.”

“Mesa,” Director Wyeth growled in warning, but she was already gone.

No one said anything while they waited for her to return, but Valen never stopped touching her. He rubbed soothing circles over her lower back. Stroked her arms. Every once in a while, he’d lean in to kiss her temple, her cheek, sometimes her forehead. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her, and she loved every moment of his attention.

A loud, high-pitched squeal rent the air as Mesa darted back into the office, laughing like a loon as she twirled in a slow circle so that the skirt fanned out around her legs.

“Holy crap, I feel like a frickin’ princess. You did this?”

Star only nodded.

“Well, you’re a genius, and I know I’m not the only one who would enjoy a little diversity around here.” Sashaying over to her mate, she spun in another tight circle. “What do you think, big guy? Isn’t it beautiful?”

Star guessed the director spoke to his mate telepathically, because after a moment, the smile slid from Mesa’s face, and her eyes took on that soft, dreamy look like women got in movies. Stepping closer, Mesa reached up, her fingertips skimming over the director’s cheek. It was such a tender, intimate moment Star felt the need to look away.

“Is that a yes?”

At Mesa’s question, Star kept her head down, but shifted her eyes to the couple.

“Whatever you want, mishka. Anything.”

For big, kickass, alien warriors, these guys were huge pushovers when it came to their women. Reaching for Valen’s hand, Star squeezed it and laughed. She wouldn’t have them any other way.

Picking up a tablet from the desk, Mesa brought it over to Star and held the screen up to her. “Just press your thumb to it so I can record your contact information. Someone will be in touch soon.” Once Star had finished the task, Mesa stepped back and sighed as she ran her hands over the purple material of the dress. “I guess I should go change.”

“No.” Star shook her head. “Please, keep it. That color looks lovely with your hair.”

The darkness of the woman’s locks contrasted beautifully with the lavender tones in the dress, giving Star all kinds of ideas about future designs. Besides, if everything went according to plan, she’d have an entire wardrobe of dresses to choose from soon enough.

Mesa gripped her hand and thanked her, just as Director Wyeth dismissed them from his office. Star wasn’t quite ready to leave yet, though.

“There is one more thing.”

The director arched one golden eyebrow at her. Valen stiffened at her side. Mesa just smiled.

“Level 1.” There was a curse to her left, but she sidestepped out of the way when Valen reached for her. “Is there a way you can build something like that for the rest of the city? Not with all the tech stuff, but just like a dome where people can sit and see outside every once in a while?”

“Star,” Valen growled in her head. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”

Yeah, she was kind of winging it here, but it had been on her mind ever since she’d seen that gorgeous view at the top of the city.

“How do you know about that?” the director demanded, his tone fierce, his eyes narrowed. “Captain?”

Valen lowered his head.

A vein throbbed in the side of Director Wyeth’s neck, and the transparent scales that covered his arms gleamed in the overhead lights as his muscles writhed beneath his skin. When he started to yell, his words laced with intermittent growling, Star shrank back, afraid for the first time since arriving on Aleucia.

Since the director spoke in the Aleucian language, she couldn’t understand the words, but she had no trouble deciphering the context. Humans weren’t supposed to know about Level 1, weren’t supposed to see it, and Valen had broken the rules for her. He’d risked his position—and possibly his life considering the look the director leveled on him—to bring her just a small moment of joy.

Finding her courage, she took a deep breath and stepped in front of her mate, cutting off Director Wyeth’s view of Valen. “It was me,” she blurted. “It’s my fault, so if you want to be angry with someone, be angry with me.” Her pulse pounded in her temples, and her hands shook violently, but she refused to back down. “He just wanted to make me happy.” Her attention turned to Mesa, and she shared a knowing smile with the female. “Surely you can understand that.”

The director turned his steely gaze on her and advanced, but he stopped abruptly when Valen jerked her back against his chest and bared his fangs. Fuck, this was not going at all the way she’d imagined.

“Knock it off,” Mesa snapped, unfazed by the powerful display of testosterone. “I think building a dome adjacent to Level 1 is a brilliant idea.”

“You’ve seen it,” Star surmised.

Mesa nodded. “I have. I love it there.” She angled her shoulders to the side and glared at her mate. “I’d like it even more if there weren’t guards running around all over the place.”

Star smirked at the director. “I thought Level 1 was forbidden? Or do the rules not apply to you?”

Again, Valen tensed beside her, but Mesa threw her head back and laughed heartily. “I like you, Star. I think we’re going to be very good friends.”

“I don’t like this, mishka.”

Fisting her hands on her hips, Mesa huffed and rolled her eyes. “Add this to the very long list of things you don’t like.”

“The Council will never agree to it.”

“What if it was necessary?” Star asked, an idea blooming. “Could you convince them if it was for a medical reason?”

The anger ebbed from Director Wyeth’s visage, the harsh lines melting into an expression of contemplation. “What do you have in mind?”

Humans were given vitamin supplements so she couldn’t cite a vitamin D deficiency. “A reduction in sunlight can reduce serotonin levels in humans which can lead to depression. It also reduces the production of melatonin, which not only makes us all pasty white, but affects the quality of sleep.”

“Sleep deprivation can lead to mood swings, disorientation, hallucinations, and all sorts of bad stuff,” Mesa chimed in, right on cue.

The director sighed, and a strange little smile curved his lips. “I’ll speak with the Council.”

“Thank you,” Star said in chorus with Mesa, only with much less enthusiasm, and minus the doe-eyed stare.

“Until that time, this conversation does not leave this office.”

Star made a show of sealing her lips and throwing away the imaginary key. “I won’t say a word. I swear.”

The director nodded, but his attention was on Valen. Slowly, both males moved to the center of the room to stand directly in front of each other. Then Valen lifted his right hand, resting it on the director’s shoulder, and when the other male mirrored him, they both nodded. Some communication passed between them, and though Star didn’t know what was being said, she imagined the strange ritual meant the two were friends again.

She would never understand men, but at least it was comforting to know that they were all pretty much the same, no matter their race.

Once the connection was broken and Director Wyeth dismissed them with another warning about staying quiet, Valen turned to her with a huge grin and an outstretched hand. She took it, going to him readily, loving the feel of his hard, warm body pressed against hers. While slightly distracted, she did manage to mumble a goodbye to Mesa before following her mate out of the room.

“Where are we going?” she asked as Valen guided her toward the lifts.

“To our quarters.”

Oh, she liked the sound of that. It hadn’t fully sunk in that she’d be moving in with her mate, but she could think of nowhere else she’d rather be. Still, they both had duties to attend to that couldn’t be ignored.

“We have to work.”

“Not today.”

His enthusiasm was catching, so when he shoved her into the lift and pinned her against the wall, she didn’t try to fight him. She did have to ask, though, “What does that mean?”

“Director Wyeth is rearranging our schedules. We have the whole day to ourselves.”

His mouth landed on hers, his tongue sliding between her lips, but she turned her head to the side to break the connection. Before she lost herself in him, there was something she needed to say.

“I’m sorry about what happened in the office. I should have asked you before I said anything about Level 1. It was stupid, and I didn’t think. I’m so sorry, Valen.”

“You were so fierce,” he whispered, nuzzling against the side of her neck. “I’m proud of you.”

“I was scared out of my mind.”

“Yet, you still tried to protect me. I don’t deserve you, my ahna.”

There would be none of that. “This is a two-way street.” Cradling his face between her hands, she held him immobile, forcing him to look at her. “We protect each other. Always.”

Valen growled, and his mouth crashed down on hers again just as the lift doors slid open on Level 3. “I want to be inside you.”

Conversation forgotten, her body reacted instantly, her muscles tightening while her pussy slicked with need. “Hurry.”

Yanking her into his arms, Valen threw her over one shoulder as he practically sprinted through the corridor to the door of their shared quarters. Star laughed, her heart so full of love she wondered how it could contain it all.

Inside the room, Valen lowered her gently to the floor, then brushed her hair out of her face with his fingertips. “What are you thinking, ahna?”

It seemed impossible that just a week ago she’d been miserable, discontent with her life, and ungrateful for the second chance she’d been given after the destruction of Earth.

“I’m thinking that I love you.”

Words spilled from his lips in a language she didn’t understand, but the way he kissed her—sweetly, tenderly, with adoration and reverence—spoke louder than anything he could have said.

In the past year, there had been numerous moments that she’d let slip past without recognizing them for what they were. She’d begrudged her new reality, viewing it as a sort of captivity rather than the opportunity it was. An opportunity to start new, to change her future, and forge her own path.

As Valen lifted her easily and headed for the stairs that led to the loft, she stared up at him, amazed at the gift she’d been granted. And when he laid her on the bed and followed her down with another heart-rending kiss, she held on tightly, making a silent vow never to take another one of those moments for granted.

EPILOGUE

Standing just inside the doors of Level 17, Valen leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and smiled as he watched his mate call out orders to her new workers. Naturally, the city still needed clean laundry, but a lot had changed in the three months since their meeting with Director Wyeth.

Surprisingly, the Council had approved the plan for the new dome. How Raxcor had talked them into it, Valen could only guess, but he was glad the director had made it work. Construction was scheduled to start soon, but until then, he and Star were still sworn to silence about the new addition. Gods, he couldn’t wait to see the way her skin glowed in the sunlight.

“No, no,” Star called, shaking her head. “Over then under.” Taking the garment from a tiny, redheaded female, she twisted the fabric with expert hands. “Like this. See?”

The back half of the laundry room had since been converted into a workshop where Star created intricate and lovely wardrobes for the citizens of Hope. Director Wyeth had even ordered a pro-replicator for her. On the touch-screen panel, she could design anything she wished, or do away with it all and start over if that was her desire. Once happy, she needed only to press a button, and the pro-replicator would send her masterpieces down a conveyor belt, perfectly colored, sewn, and pressed.

Even with the advanced technology at her disposal, she still preferred to test out her new ideas by hand before inputting them into the system. Valen thought it was incredibly inefficient, but also strangely endearing.

Overhead, an alarmed blared, and a robotic voice called out the hour, announcing the end of the work day. Those who had been assigned to help Star seemed relieved, but his stubborn mate frowned as if annoyed by the interruption.

Gods, he adored her.

Once the room had emptied, he pushed away from the wall and sauntered across the room, sliding up behind his mate with a rumble in his chest that sounded more like a purr than a growl. Winding his arms around her, he closed his eyes and vibrated with satisfaction when she relaxed into him with a contented sigh.

“Hey,” she murmured, lifting her hand over her shoulder to press it to his cheek. “How was your day?”

“I missed you.”

“Mm, I missed you, too.”

“How are you feeling, ahna?”

“I’m okay.” Taking his hands, she pressed them to the sides of her rounded belly. “The little guy seems restless today. He’s been kicking me like crazy.”

Turning her, he caressed her silky hair and kissed her lips before kneeling at her feet and pressing another kiss to her stomach. “Are you so eager to see the world?” He rubbed soothing circles across her skin, grinning when the babe within her began to move. “Be nice to your mother, little one.”

Since Aleucian pregnancies lasted roughly half the length of human gestation, it wouldn’t be much longer before he could meet his son. Or daughter. Honestly, he didn’t care if the child was born with one eye and tentacles. As long as his babe and his mate were healthy, that was all that mattered to him.

“Remember that at three in the morning when he’s crying and needs his diaper changed.”

Valen nuzzled her belly, then rose to pull his ahna into his arms. “It will be my honor to care for our babe.”

She stared up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “I love you, Valen.”

Pulling her closer, he smiled when she buried her face in his chest and sniffled. “Until the stars fall from the sky.”

“What do the stars have to do with anything?”

He smoothed her hair back so he could whisper in her ear. “That’s how long I’ll love you.”

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ARGENT.KALI@GMAIL.COM

Born with a silver tongue and a pen in her hand, Kali spends her days crafting scandalous romances filled with flawed heroes and kick-ass heroines. When she's not writing, she can be found curled up in her favorite chair with a good book and a steamy cup of coffee. 

Self-proclaimed introvert and supporter of the selectively social, Kali currently resides in North Texas with her insane family, including two lazy dogs and one tragically misunderstood cat. 

Seriously, though, the cat is evil.

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